The Indy cars are on their final round of practice right now. One of them is our favorite, #17, Jeff Simmons.
Jeff is coming into the pits here. All the cars seem to be running pretty well today. Of course, they’re running on 100% ethanol so what do you expect, eh?
Jeff had a great race last week in Japan and we’ll be rooting for him again tomorrow.
The coolest looking Indy cars have to belong to Rahal-Letterman Racing. However if you look at the other cars this year, several have new designs and color schemes.
Here’s Scott Sharp doing a practice lap here at Kansas Speedway this morning. He’s the Patron car driver. It’s got a real glowing green and black design.
Besides the Patron car Rahal has the Ethanol car which is my personal favorite. I really think that the color and design of this car is largely responsible for the fact that the other cars have really updated their designs.
Organic snack bar maker… and environmentally-active company… Clif Bar is now using eight biodiesel trucks to help marketing managers deliver their snacks, along with an Earth-friendly message.
This story on GNET.org says the change is part of the company lessening its impact on global warming:
By converting its field marketing vehicles to biodiesel and eliminating the need for 8,000 gallons of gasoline each year, Clif Bar expects to reduce the fleet’s CO2 emissions — the major cause of global warming — by about 40 percent, or 60,000 pounds of CO2.
“We’re always looking for ways to reduce our ecological footprint — it’s one of our bottom lines,” said Clif Bar Owner and Founder Gary Erickson, who drives biodiesel-fueled vehicles for personal use. “We’re using as many organic ingredients as possible in our food, reducing waste in our packaging, ‘greening’ our office space, and reducing our impact on global warming by helping build wind farms and planting trees. The use of biodiesel is another important step in our ongoing journey to operate a sustainable business.”
The fleet will be in Boston, Chicago, Colorado, Los Angeles, Northern California, the Northwest, San Diego/Arizona and Texas where the marketing managers rack up more than 120,000 miles a year.
The latest move is in line with Clif Bar’s campaign known as “Start Global Cooling.” Check out the cool logo.
Looks like they’re talking the talk and, in this case, driving the walk.
Tennessee’s Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced today that it is expanding its use of biodiesel into vehicles used in Nashville.
According to a release on TDOT’s web site, the agency has been using biodiesel for two years in a 130-vehicle test fleet in East Tennessee as part of the Pilot Fleet Program:
“It’s imperative that government and businesses begin identifying ways to improve air quality,” said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely. “Using biodiesel is an effective way TDOT can reduce harmful emissions and protect our environment.”
TDOT is using B20… 20% biodiesel and 80% regular diesel fuel. Eighty-one heavy-duty dump trucks, bull dozers and back hoes are using the biodiesel.
The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed new regulations to cut harmful emissions from lawnmowers and other small engines. The new proposal would set strict standards for most lawn and garden equipment but would not go into effect until at least 2011.
In the meantime, lawn jockeys can do their part to help cut emissions by using 10 percent ethanol in their gas-powered lawn mowers, trimmers, edgers and blowers, according to the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC).
Small engines can efficiently burn E10, a blend of 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent ethanol. The use of E10 reduces greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 30 percent.
EPIC also offers other tips for conserving fuel and helping the environment during lawn care, such as keeping equipment well-maintained. Tuning up a typical walk-behind lawn mower at the beginning of the season can eliminate the same amount of exhaust emissions produced by driving a car 26 miles, according to Briggs & Stratton research engineers. It will also conserve gasoline. They also suggest leaving grass clippings on the ground instead of picking them up. Grass cycling makes the mowing process much faster and the grass blades redistribute nitrogen to the lawn and soil.
Kansas City is drawing in racing fans for weekend action. I’m out at the Kansas Speedway track and just getting my bearings since I didn’t get to spend much time here last year.
Action will pick up tomorrow when the cars get to practice out on the track and then we have qualifying for Sunday’s race. I’ll be doing some interviews and taking lots of pictures in an effort to cover the news from the ethanol industry perspective. I hope you will enjoy it.
This evening I’ll be meeting with a number of Team Ethanol folks including members of the staff of EPIC. I should know more about what our schedule will be like after then.
I’m wondering how many times I’ve taken a picture of this car. Actually this is the new show car for Team Ethanol which was on hand at yesterday’s Snappy Mart pump promotion.
The demand for this show car is tremendous and there are now several of them that tour the country and get displayed at events of all types. One of the first things I noticed was the shiny front struts. Last year’s model had black ones. The paint job is fresh and contains several new sponsor logos this year too.
The “real thing” will be on the track tomorrow morning for practice laps in advance of Sunday’s race and qualifying is tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be at the track all day conducting interviews and taking pictures.
On hand at the pump promotion for ethanol in Kansas City yesterday was Amy Konrath (pictured to the right of two representatives of Rahal-Letterman Racing). Amy works in public relations for the Indy Racing League.
I thought it would be interesting to hear her perspective about how the relationship between the IRL and Team Ethanol has benefited the League. She says it’s been great since it gives the IRL something to promote and focus attention on what they’re doing to help with our country’s energy needs.
Listen to my interview with Amy: 
Amy Konrath Interview (2 min MP3)
Although it was a cool morning yesterday, Indy car driver Jeff Simmons was on location at a pump promotion filling up gas tanks with gasoline blended with ethanol.
I interviewed Jeff about how he thinks these localized pump promotions work in terms of helping with consumer awareness and education. He thinks they’re very beneficial. It helps when a lot of local media show up to since I noticed several local tv stations, newspaper and radio on hand to interview Jeff and others.
Jeff says his #17 car functioned very well in the last race and he’s feeling very confident that this weekend’s race in Kansas City represents his best chance so far for a great finish.
Listen to my interview with Jeff: Jeff Simmons Interview (4 min MP3)
Market information provider DTN has introduced a biodiesel trading platform. DTN ProphetX Biodiesel Edition provides biodiesel producers and investors with intelligence on agricultural and energy markets.
This news release posted on Grainnet.com says the service also provides pricing information, commentary and other risk management tools:
This edition is for anyone in the emerging biodiesel markets to ensure future profitability and support sound investment decisions.
DTN ProphetX Biodiesel Edition’s risk management tools create user-specific “what if” scenarios to determine gross margin, net profit, break-even prices, exposed production risks and optimal hedging strategies over a 12 month period.
The DTN Biodiesel Crush tools can even assist users in determining the most economical and profitable multi-feedstock selections and ratios for operations and local market conditions.
DTN officials say ProphetX Biodiesel Edition is the only trading platform of its kind out there.
